


The Path to Settlement Has a Major Detour

by shiloskid



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 16:36:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6618157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiloskid/pseuds/shiloskid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I know that legally, I’m her parent, and that I have the right to see her, but since we work in the same place and live in the same city, I actually do  see her more frequently. I just don’t get to take her home or put her to bed as often as I’d like. I don’t want to miss the rest of her childhood.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Path to Settlement Has a Major Detour

**Author's Note:**

> I keep going back to Ellen’s tweet about JCap in ep 22. You know what would rip my heart out? Arizona having a heart to heart with Sofia and asking her if she wants to stay in Seattle or move to NY, and then dropping the custody case in favor of working out regular in person and online visits (which would mean having a freaking conversation with Callie). I think she’d do anything for Sofia, including letting her go instead of forcing her to stay. You know, if this were a fic, the cliffhanger would be her dropping the case, and then in the next chapter there would be a time jump and they’d be cuddled together watching a Disney movie and Sofia would ask something like, can I have a little sister now?  
> So I did a little thing….

“My ex-wife want to move across the country and take our daughter.”

When she finally said the words aloud, it hit her that she was on the verge of losing her entire world. Without Sofia, her life would be reduced to GSMH, and while being one of the few board certified Fetal-Maternal surgeons in the world was nice, it had nothing on being Sofia’s mama.

She made sure that she wasn’t around on the day that Callie was served. It was three months before Penny would need to be in New York, based on the notice she had provided the Board, and six months before the date that Callie had given in her sabbatical request. She spent that day at home in bed binge watching old cartoons on Netflix and eating ice cream from the carton. Every few hours she glanced at her phone, knowing that Callie had a schedule full of elective surgeries and then a girl’s night with their daughter, and probably Penny.

She had just started the first season of Animaniacs when DeLuca knocked on her bedroom door.

“Hey. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to let you know that Torres was looking for you. She cornered me in the cafeteria and I panicked and told her you had a family emergency.” Arizona rolled her eyes but couldn’t fault the guy. After all, he had no way of knowing that Sofia was her only family.

“It’s fine. Thanks.” The man nodded and slipped back down the hall. She figured it would only be a matter of time before the phone rang, and she was right. She had just pressed play when the phone vibrated on the bedside table a picture of Callie on the screen. She swiped to the right to dismiss the call and went back to watching cartoons.

Her phone lit up again with Callies face, about fifteen minutes later, and when she glanced down she saw that there was a waiting voicemail from the earlier call. She dismissed the call again. This time the phone immediately buzzed indicating a text message from Callie which flashed across the screen and demanded that Arizona call her. This went on for the next hour, until she was beyond frustrated. She was about to drop the phone into a drawer when Sofia’s face lit up the screen.

“Hey buttercup, isn’t it past your bedtime?”

“So you are ignoring me. What the hell, Arizona?” And that was the beginning of world ward three.

*********************

The first time the met with the lawyers, it had been in a large conference room with recording devices and a stenographer in the corner. Both lawyers had advised them not to speak, but Callie was angry and she kept interrupting the lawyers to input her opinions. Arizona never said a word.

During their second meeting, Callie’s lawyer asked her to clairfy, on the record, why it was that she was requesting primary custody of the minor child, Sofia Sloan Torres, and Arizona lost her cool for a split second before taking a deep breath and focusing on the lawyer.

“Sofia _Robbin Sloan_ Torres is my daughter, and the only living member of my family, and based on the current custody agreement that my ex-wife dictated when we separated, I only get to see my daughter two days a week. Should Callie and her new girlfriend decide to stay in New York, I fear I’ll never see my child again.”

“You agreed, Arizona! You never once argued about the custody arrangment.” Callie’s lawyer grabbed her wrist and murmured to her, reminding her that she was not allowed to speak during the questioning period.  Arizona hung her head and concentrated on keeping her breathing at a steady rate. Callie was right, she hadn’t fought the custody arrangement because she was afraid that Callie would petition for full custody based on the cheating, especially since they hadn’t really gotten past that huge elephant when they’d been in counseling.

“Dr Robbins, can you tell us why you’re afraid you’ll never see Sofia?"

“When Callie and I separated, it came on the heels of me recovering from having a leg amputated and my having an affair. It only happened once, but after I destroyed her trust, I felt that I didn’t deseve anthing more than the little time I got. At the time, it was enough for me to know that I was Sofia’s mama. I know that legally, I’m her parent, and that I have the right to see her, but since we work in the same place and live in the same city, I actually _do_  see her more frequently. I just don’t get to take her home or put her to bed as often as I’d like. I don’t want to miss the rest of her childhood.”

***********************

Callie had not been given the opportunity to respond to her statement that day, and Arizona was relieved. She spent the rest of the day doing consults and then picked up Sofia from the after school program that she was in for the term.

“Hi Buttercup. Did you have a good day?”

“I guess.” Sofia seemed down, and even the promise of ice cream and her favorite movie after dinner didn’t seem to lift her spirits. Arizona tried to engage her in conversation for the rest of the night, but Sofia was mellow and somewhat distant until she dropped her off at school the following morning.

Sofia’s glum mood continued for the next two weeks, and nothing that Arizona said or did could cheer the little girl.  She was contemplating whether or not to reach out to Callie (through her lawyer) when she overheard Penny talking in the hallway.She ducked into the open room so that she wouldn’t have to interact with the resident.

_“She’s been this way ever since we told her that we were going to move to New York for a year. I thought she liked me?”_

_“I’m sure it’s not you, Sofia loves you.”_ Callie’s voice carried into the room and Arizona felt her heart clench in her chest. _“I think she senses that something else is going on, because she’s not really talking to me, either, and it’s not like I can talk to Arizona right now.”_ The voices faded as the couple moved down the hall and Arizona felt her eyes begin to burn. Sofia was a very bright little girl, and she spent a lot of time with other children whose parents worked at GSMH. It was very likely that she’d heard about their ongoing battle.

During her bath that night, as she watched the little girl play with the assorted toys in the tub, Arizona made a decision. She waited until Sofia had retreived the book that they were reading that week, and when they had settled on the bed, opened the book and looked down at the page before replacing the bookmark and closing it.

“Buttercup, look at me for a minute.” Sofia looked up at her mama and noticed the tears that Arizona had been fighting all day. “Sofia, I know you’re sad. Are you sad because your mama and Penny and you are going to New York?” The little girl bit her lip and shook her head. “Can you tell me why you’re sad?”

“You and mami are fighting and Zola said that means that I won’t get to go with Mami and Penny. She said I’ll never see them again!” Sofia started to cry and scooted away from Arizona, shrugging off the womans arm when she attempt to comfort her.

“Do you want to go live in New York?” Sofia shrugged but continued to cry. She looked to small and she clearly wanted her mother to hug her but she was trying so hard to fight it. Arizona felt her heart break, and she reached out again, placing her hand on Sofia’s leg.

“Buttercup, don’t cry. Mama will fix it. I promise.’ Sofia lunged into her arms and cried against her chest until she fell asleep. Arizona just rocked her, tears falling onto her daughters soft brown hair long into the night. She didn’t sleep at all.

She was in her office when Callie threw the door open and stormed in the following afternoon.

“What is this? Is this a trick?” Arizona looked up and sighed.

“No. It’s not a trick. I’m dropping my petition for primary custody.” She looked down at the work on her desk hoping that Callie would take the hint and leave.

“Why?”

“Because Sofia is confused and she knows that we’re fighting and she’s was so upset last night and wouldn’t let me comfort her. Seeing her cry breaks my heart Callie. I won’t cause her any more tears.”

Callie dropped onto the couch and stared. She had no idea that Sofia knew about the custody. She figured that she was just sad because she’d be leaving her friends.

“She doesn’t want to go to New York with me?”

“She doesn’t want us to fight. And Callie, none of this would have happened if we had been talking to each other.”

“What do you mean? Are you trying to say that we’d still be together -?”

“No. I’m saying that I should have asked for more time with Sofia once I got back into a good head space, and that you should have discussed how you moving across the country with _our_ daughther would impact my relationship with her. You’ve made all of the decisions about her for the past four years and I’ve just gone along with them all, happy to be included. That has to change, Callie. I’m her mother, and if you didn’t want that to happen, you should have said something before we signed off on the adoption.”

Callie sat in stunned silence for a minute before she got up and left the room.

****************

They did not speak again until they were sitting with the judge in family court. Even though Arizona had dropped her petition, the judge who had been reviewing the case wanted to see them, all three of them, before letting the case be dismissed. Now they sat before the woman, Callie biting her lip and fidgeting, and Sofia and Arizona looking a little green. Judge Mason hid her smile and then addressed Sofia.

The little girl walked up to the desk and politley shook the judge’s hand before sitting in the chair on the left side of the desk. Judge Mason smiled at her and complimented her dress, and the little girl smiled, showing that she had recently lost a  tooth.

“Sofia, do you know why you’re here today?” The little girl frowned and then shook her head. She didn’t turn to look at her parents though. “Well, your moms have been trying to decide where you should live. Did you know that?” Sofia nodded but she still didn’t speak. “Did they ask you where you wanted to live?” Sofia nodded and admitted that her mama asked her when they were having their story. When she spoke, Arizona sniffled, and Judge Mason looked up at her.

“Dr. Robbins, can you tell me why you’ve decided to drop your petition?”

“This was the first time that Sofia has been old enough to realize that we, Callie and I, were not getting along, and it was upsetting her. I had to stop it because my little girl was just so sad.” She stopped talking and wiped at her eyes and nose, but she was unable to stop crying. “I would do anything for that little girl, I made her a promise when she was just a few hours old that I would do anything in my power to keep her happy. If being with her Mami makes her happy, then I’ll fly to New York twice a week and tuck her in, and if she decides that she wants to stay with me, then I’ll fly with her to New York twice a week so that Callie can tuck her in.”

Callie reached across the open seats and wrapped her arm around Arizona, bringing the crying woman into her embrace. She didn’t speak, but the tears on her cheeks said it all.

“I think that the three of you should probably sit with a court appointed mediator to revisit your custody arrangement. Dr. Robbins, I’m happy to see that  you are acting in the best interest of your child, and I commend you both for realizing how stressful this can be for her. I’m granting the motion to dismiss.” She looked down at Sofia and smiled before signing the papers and closing the folder.

**************

Callie flopped onto the couch and leaned against her partner. Hashing out a joint custody arrangement that was fair, based on each of them being the legal custodians, meant they had actually started to talk to each other again. Arizona had apologized for lying to herself and to Callie about her mental state after the amputation, and for sleeping with Lauren Boswell (and Leah Murphy). She didn’t ask Callie to forgive her and she didn’t make excuses. In fact, she admitted that while she was heartbroken when they split and then divorced, that she understood why it had happened. She confessed to Callie that she still believed that Callie was the love of her life, and that she was glad that Callie was able to find love again.

Callie had listened and for the first time had not had anything to say. She’d squeezed Arizona’s hand and then excused herself for the evening. After taking the night to process, she’d stopped by Arizona’s office with coffee the following morning, and they’d gone right back to chatting about the hospital and their daughter and the typed of jobs that Callie was considering in New York. It had taken her a few days to formulate a response to Arizona’s confession, but when she did, it was heartfelt and passionate. She admitted that a part of her heart would always belong to Arizona, and accepted responsbility for not helping her after the amputation. She had admitted how much the cheating hurt, and accepted responsibilty for her part in the band aid that was their reconciliation.  She made sure that the last thing she said to her ex-wife was that while she was still devastated about the loss of their baby, she did not regret any of their time together.

After they cleared the air, they decided as a family, that Sofia would go with Callie to New York and that the little girl would be able to decide whether or not she wanted to stay. It was a bit unorthodox, but it was something that the little girl decided, and they were trying to ensure that she was happy, even though it meant one of them would miss her terrilbly.

Arizona drove them both to the airport the day they left, and she oversaw the movers who packed up the house the next day. She called Sofia every night before bed unless she was in surgery, and she made a promise to visit and take her out for ice cream in the park.

Callie and Penny had three months of 'excited new couple in a new city bliss' before things started to fall apart, and six month after they moved in together, Penny was spending more time in the lab and with her research team. Callie talked it through with Arizona, who was surprisingly supportive, and with Meredith who told her to cut her losses and move back to Seattle. In the end, after Sofia decided that she wanted to go live with her mama, Callie and Penny called it quits. They didn’t tell anyone but they both knew that it just wasn’t meant to be.

Seven months after leaving, Callie showed up at Arizona’s house with Sofia in tow. Sofia had her little suitcase and a backpack and was bouncing on her toes as she waited for her mama to arrive from the hospital. When Arizona finally parked and got out of the car, the little girl flew across the yard and into her arms with a cry of ‘mama I missed you!’

Callie stayed at the Archfield for three days before she made an appearance at GSMH. Her position as a board member, and the fact that she was technically on Sabbatical, meant that she was able to scrub in and assist on a few elective surgeries, and she enjoyed the chance to work with the newest class of residents and the surgeon who was filling her spot while she was gone. By the end of the day she was exhausted and full of energy at the same time. She steered her rental car to Arizona’s house, knocked on the door and when she saw her ex-wife, she smiled.

“So picture this,” she said. “I was standing in my apartment watching my daughter pack her favorite clothes in her suitcase and putting her other essentials into a box to ship to you when I had a sudden realization. I knew that the reason my feelings for Penny had changed was because my feeling for _you_ had changed. That little part of my heart that has always belonged to you had gotten bigger and I hadn’t noticed until I couldn’t talk to you every day or see you everyday. And I was so jealous that Sof got to talk to you, and then when she decided that she wanted to live with you, I realized that I want to live with you too.” She paused and gazed at the woman who was still standing in the doorway. “You look beautiful, Arizona.”

Arizona laughed, remembering a time when she had delivered a similar speech, but instead of slamming the door, she reached out and pulled the other woman into the house.

“You, Calliope, are a dork, and you are very lucky that I love you.”

 

_Epilogue – One Year Later_

Callie flopped onto the couch between her daughter and the woman that she loved. The seven year old laughed and leaned against her mother, offering her the bowl of popcorn that she had been hoarding. Arizona huffed and crossed her arms over her chest and Callie laughed. They were having a movie night, something that they did once a week unless something kept them at work past Sofia’s bedtime. After Callie’s speech, she and Arizona had started to date again on the sly. They spent most of their time together at Arizona’s house until Callie found her own place, and then they alternated between houses. Even Sofia was out of the loop, having only been told that they were friends.

They dated in secret for three months before Callie’s libido forced them to examine what they were doing and where they were going. They knew that there was love there, but they were both gun shy, which is why they hadn’t done more than a little heavy petting. Callie wanted to be sure that the were not making a mistake, and so did Arizona. So when Arizona presented her with a ring after sitting down beside her on the couch one evening (not even this fancy robot leg you made me will get me down on one knee, Calliope) they celebrated by spending the night together as fiances.

They didn’t set a date for a wedding but they told Sofia that it was going to happen. So when the movie ended that night, one year after they decided to talk it out in person instead of in court, she turned to her parents and smiled.

“Since I get to live with both of you now, can I have a puppy or a kitten?” Both of her mothers were quick to deny that request but the smart little girl just shrugged and smirked. “Ok, but if I don’t get a pet then you have to give me little brother or a sister.”


End file.
